Celebrity contradictions tend to stay buried until the internet decides they shouldn't. Shehnaaz Gill, the actress and singer who parlayed her breakout on Bigg Boss 13 into a cross-industry career, is at the center of a social media firestorm after a clip from a recent Pinkvilla interview went viral on July 15.
Asked by a fan during that interview whether she goes for therapy, Gill dismissed the idea outright. She said, "There's no need for therapy. Therapy is needed for those people who strut around me. Do I need it? I'm smiling anyway." She went further, adding that "therapy is needed for those who do not know what they think of themselves" and that "therapy is not needed for people like us who do not have these things."
The clip was later shared on Reddit, where users criticized Gill's comments and said she should have responded more carefully to a topic related to mental health. Across Twitter and Instagram, the reaction was sharper. One Reddit user wrote, "If you don't know how to speak, then you shouldn't say anything."
What turned mild backlash into a full-blown controversy was a second clip. In a candid conversation with Curly Tales, Gill had said, "I have taken a lot of therapy, especially for my anger issues." She further added, "There comes a time when everybody needs therapy." During that sit-down, she openly endorsed the idea that everyone should try therapy at least once. The juxtaposition did not land gently.
Born in 1994, Gill is an actress, model, and singer who works across television and film. She debuted in the 2017 Punjabi film Sat Shri Akaal England before entering Bigg Boss 13 in 2019, finishing as the second runner-up. Since then, she has appeared in Bollywood titles like Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan and Thank You for Coming, both in 2023. She has previously credited the reality show as the platform that changed her life.
The timing compounds the scrutiny. Gill is currently promoting her upcoming Punjabi film Ishqnama. Inspired by the bestselling novel Hind Pak Bordernama, the autobiographical romantic drama is based on the real-life experiences of Nirmal Nimma. Directed by Arvinder S. Khaira, the film also stars Jayy Randhawa and Saurabh Sachdeva. It releases on July 24.
In a recent Tribune India feature on the project, Gill said the role "shook me out of my comfort zone." Whether that willingness to be vulnerable onscreen extends to how she discusses mental health off it remains an open question. As of July 17, she has not addressed the controversy publicly. Promotional duties for Ishqnama continue, but the conversation around her remarks shows no signs of quieting down.
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